Chronic Disease Prevention

Six out of ten American adults have at least one chronic disease, and four in ten adults have more than one chronic disease. Chronic diseases are those that go on for a long time and often don’t go away completely. They are among the most common and costly health problems; however, we often know how to prevent them. Chronic diseases affect people of all ages, races, socioeconomic statuses and ethnicities.

Risk factors are anything that increases the chance a person or group of people will get sick, hurt or die. An individual's beliefs and attitudes, what they do and don’t do, where they live and work, their age and family health history are some of the reasons people may develop health problems. You can lower your chances of getting a chronic disease by keeping a healthy weight, eating healthy food, getting enough exercise and not using tobacco or drinking too much alcohol.

Source: cdc.gov/chronicdisease